The Grey Room
by genevra
Summary: They have fifty-seven days left. Tiva.


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NCIS

**The Grey Room**

**A/N:**A big, big thank you to A.Jeff (aka Anna-banana) who gave me the idea for this story in the first place. It was months ago but still, she deserves the credit. This is my first NCIS fic but I love the show lots. Tuesday nights just aren't complete without it. I've had major writers block for ages so I really needed to get this out. The ending might be a bit rushed but it was where the story went. By the way, I'm an Aussie and we've just seen 'Recoil' so we're a little behind. (PS. I fixed up some minor grammar and layout mistakes I missed).

**Disclaimer:**I do not own nor am I affiliated with NCIS in anyway.

_Have I still got you to be my open door?  
Have I still got you to be my sandy shore?  
Have I still got you to cross my bridge in this storm?  
Have I still got you to keep me warm?_

_'Grey Room.' __**Damien Rice.**_

The empty package sat on her kitchen-table where she had discarded it. The familiar handwriting on the box had stopped it being subjected to all manner of tests and scans. Instead she had raced home from the post office and greedily opened the box, shoving aside the protective bubble-wrap, eager to see what was inside. And now she found herself sitting at the kitchen table clutching her precious gift to her chest, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Her phone rang once, twice, thrice before she pulled herself together and managed to lean over and pull it off its base. She didn't bother checking the caller I.D because she knew how it would be.

"Did you get it?" Tony asked, a slight hesitation in his voice. She seriously considered playing with his head but in her current emotional state she couldn't.

"Yes, I got it," she whispered.

"You don't sound happy," Tony replied. "I thought you would be happy. You know, I had you pegged as a closet musical lover from the beginning. The Rodgers and Hammerstein Fiftieth Anniversary box-set is the perfect gift for you. You don't love it?"

"I do love it, Tony. I just... I miss you. I miss living in Washington. I miss living a ten minute drive from your house. I miss watching DVDs with you. I miss you most of all but," she said and without meaning to she sniffled.

"I miss you too, Ziva," he said, serious for once. There was long pause as they sat in silence. "Hey, I have an idea."

"What is your idea?" she asked.

"Are your TV and DVD player set-up?" he asked. She told him it was and she could almost see his triumphant grin. "Excellent. What do you say we watch one together?"

"You want to watch a DVD with me from the other side of the world?" she asked incredulously.

"It's hardly the other side of the world, Ziva. But yes. I do want to watch a movie with you from the 'other side of the world,'" he answered. "We'll start with 'Carousel."

"I just want to get changed and heat up some dinner. Call me back in fifteen?" Ziva asked. "Or I could call you back?"

"See you in fifteen minutes."

* * *

_Two and a half months earlier._

It was cold. Scrap that, it was freezing. The entire team was standing around a small floor heater that was set-up in a corner of Abby's lab. Even Gibbs was standing close, though he was pretending to be looking through a microscope. Eventually he sighed and looked at the team.

"You aren't getting any work done. Go home," he ordered them.

"And don't come back until the heating is fixed?" Tony asked hopefully. He added a grin and batted his eyes, eliciting a giggle from Ziva and a big smile from Abby. McGee looked up and waited for Gibbs' answer.

"No," Gibbs said with a shake of the head. "I'll see you here at 0800. And if you're cold, put on another layer of clothing. If that isn't good enough don't bother coming in at all. Ever."

He had seen Tony perk up at the idea of not coming back.

"See you at 0800, boss," Tony muttered. He, Ziva and McGee made their way upstairs in the elevator to get their things from the squad room. Tony noticed Ziva shivering and he smirked. "Feeling the cold, Ziva?"

"No, Tony. Not at all," she snapped. She grabbed her coat and put it on and then wound a chocolate coloured scarf around her neck and topped it off with a tan coloured hat. Her gloves had been firmly on her hands all day.

"Whoa, Probie. Ninja girl gets grumpy when she's cold," Tony jeered. He ducked and narrowly missed being hit in the head with a stapler. "Ziva, what was that for?"

"I am not grumpy because I am cold," she spat. She sat down on the edge of her desk and sighed. "I should not have thrown a stapler at you, Tony, and I apologise."

"You know what I think you need?" Tony asked. He came over and stood in front of her but she refused to look up at him.

"I do not want to go out for a drink," she replied. She looked up at Tony defiantly but she saw something almost like sympathy on her face and it almost took the wind from her.

"I wasn't going to say a drink," he said. "I was thinking more along the lines of movies, hot chocolate and a nice, warm blanket. What do you say, Ziva? A little Connery or a little Bette Davis is the antidote for all grumpiness."

"I could maybe watch a DVD with you," Ziva answered.

"Maybe watch a DVD with you," he mocked. "Get yourself ready for an experience. McGee, you wanna join us?"

"No thanks, Tony. I, uh, told Abby I'd wait for her. She doesn't like driving alone in the snow," McGee replied. Ziva and Tony exchanged glances and smirks. "Guys, it isn't like that."

"Right," Ziva said with a serious nod. She saw Tony open his mouth, never one to let an opportunity slide, but she nudged him in the side. "It's getting dark and I want to drop by my house to pick some stuff up first."

"Like what?" Tony asked. Out of the corner of his eye he saw McGee sigh in relief. Tony threw a piece of scrunched up paper at McGee and he glared at him before returning his attention to shutting his computer down. He turned his attention back to Ziva. "I have everything you need."

"You cannot expect me to watch DVDs in my work clothes," she answered. He looked at her and winked.

"Don't worry about that..."

In an hour, Ziva was safely ensconced in an NCIS sweatshirt and a pair of Tony's track pants. She placed a steaming mug of tea down on the coffee table and slumped onto the couch. Tony was fiddling around with the DVD player.

"What are we watching?" she asked him.

"'Meet Me In St. Louis,'" he answered without turning around. He felt a marshmallow hit him on the back of his head. "Hey! What was that for?"

"I do not believe that Sean Connery or Bette Davis are in that movie," she said. Tony stood up and turned around. He beamed at her and held his hand to his heart.

"Ziva, I'm so proud I could burst," he cried. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms against her chest.

"I know a little. How could I not when you just do not stop with the movie quotes and references? Really, Tony, you are insufferable," she groaned. He simply grinned at her and sat next to her on the couch. "Do you want to know why I picked this movie?"

"Why did you pick this movie?" she replied.

"Because it's about a family that has to move away when they really don't want too," he answered. Ziva shifted slightly so that no part of her was touching Tony and he nodded. "I thought so."

"Before now I would have said that it was unfortunate that I felt that way or that it was weak but I now know that is is not weak or unfortunate," Ziva answered. "It is true. I do not want to go back."

"But you don't have a choice," Tony finished.

"But I don't have a choice," she agreed.

"How many days?" he asked and he felt Ziva shrug next to him.

"I do not know how many days," she whispered. Tony pressed play on the movie and the opening music swelled. Ziva relaxed next to him and moved ever so slightly so that their legs were touching.

Fifty seven days, she thought in her head.

* * *

It was nice to be here, Ziva thought. Her hands cupped firmly around a mug of hot chocolate almost overflowing with mini marshmallows. 'The Sound of Music' played on the large plasma screen and Tony was leaning forward, catching every word and every note of every song. Ziva had never pegged her Italian Stallion of a partner for a musical fan yet here he was, enthralled by the feisty nun, the stern yet somewhat endearing Captain and the family's plight. Every now and then Tony would turn to Ziva and point out something or tell her an obscure fact.

Did she know that the last scene to be filmed was the pinnacle 'Sound of Music' scene? Did she know that the house, the river and the gazebo were in fact in three different locations? Did she know that Charmian Carr who played Liesel was, in actual fact, only a few years older than Julie Andrews?

Ziva did not know any of these things but she did know that it was nice to be sitting there with Tony, watching a movie, hearing him talk. She hadn't wanted to watch movies at Tony's and when she had finally relented, she certainly hadn't wanted to watch 'The Sound of Music.' It was one of her favourite movies but in that moment she didn't feel like watching singing nuns and tree-climbing, curtain-wearing children. However by 'I Have Confidence' she had begun to change her mind. Certainly after '16 Going On 17' she was sold. She yawned and sipped her hot chocolate twice before placing it on the coffee table and stretching her legs out in front of her. She settled back in the cushions and placed her head gently on Tony's shoulder. His hand came to rest instinctively and harmlessly on her knee. She yawned one more time and closed her eyes, just to rest them for a moment. She briefly felt his lips kiss her on the forehead but the next thing she knew, it was an hour later, Captain von Trapp was singing 'Edelweiss' on a stage and Tony was pulling a blanket higher around them. She turned to him and he smiled without looking at her.

"This is the best part of the movie, Z," he said. Ziva turned her focus back to the television. The crowd joined in the chorus and Ziva felt a tear trail down her cheek. Tony glanced over and Ziva noticed that he too had tears in his eyes. He shrugged. "Women like a sensitive guy."

"Some do, some do not. I do not. I like my man to be a man," Ziva joked lightly as they settled in to watch the von Trapps escape from Austria. Ziva let her head rest against Tony's chest and she pulled the blanket in tighter around herself. The closing music swelled as the camera panned over snow-covered mountains. "You know, Tony, my contract with NCIS will be up soon and I will have to return to Mossad."

"You never left Mossad, right?" Tony pointed out. "You are always telling us that you don't leave Mossad, Mossad leaves you so technically you just have to return to Israel."

"Be serious, Tony," Ziva snapped.

"It just isn't going to be that bad, Ziva," he shrugged. "I mean, they have the Internet and web cams in Israel, right? And telephones. We'll have weekly talks and your dad's the deputy director maybe he'll let you use some of Mossad's precious satellite time."

"You say that now but we wil not. We will start off talking once a week but then one of us will miss one phone call and when we do that, it will be easy to keep missing them," she said. "It will not work."

"You don't know that it won't, Ziva," he answered. She felt him sigh and he gently moved her off his chest. She turned to him and saw him staring at her intently. "Ziva..."

"Tony, what? You are scaring me," she replied.

"I don't like the idea of you leaving," he admitted. He shook his head and slammed his fist down on the arm of the couch. "I don't just not like it, I hate it. But I can't change it. The only thing I can do is make the most of it. Besides, we have seventeen days, three hours and fifty-seven minutes left."

Ziva looked down at her watch and counted it mentally. She looked over at Tony in confusion. He shrugged and gave her a grin, "Okay so I made the three hours, fifty-seven minutes part up but the seventeen days bit is true."

"I know that but how do you?" she asked.

"I overheard Gibbs and Director Shepherd talking," Tony admitted. "Neither of them seemed very keen to give you up."

"But they do not have a choice," Ziva finished for him. She opened her mouth and then closed it, unable or unwilling to say anything more. Tony shifted his position slightly and reached out for the remote control. Ziva sat stoically and neither of them spoke as he stopped the movie and pressed the 'open' button. The DVD player swung it's little door open and both agents looked at it.

"How about a little Humphrey Bogart? Maybe some Sean Connery?" Tony asked finally. He seemed to sense that Ziva could not talk and he answered his own question. "I think a little Sean Connery is in order."

"No," Ziva said finally. She pulled the blanket up again and snuggled into the plush couch. "Can we just sit here for a little while?"

"If you want," Tony answered. He sat back down and made himself comfortable. Ziva rearranged the blanket so that it was covering both of them.

"So cold," she whispered.

"It doesn't get this cold back at home in your Israel?" Tony asked. He felt the mental daggers flying his way. "I'm just messing with you, Ziva."

"Your warmest winter day is about the same as our cooler days. But it does get cold," Ziva answered. She closed her eyes and let the warmth of Tony's body envelope her. She vaguely heard him turn the television off leaving them in blackness instead of a blanket of blue. She then vaguely heard him ask her something which she answered with a murmur and then she heard nothing until Tony began to snore. She hit him lightly and he rolled over awkwardly. She made herself as comfortable as she could on what was left of the couch. She listened to Tony's snoring and her heart ached. 'But what if I go away and when I come back, it isn't like this?' she thought.

* * *

The sun had set and Tony was sitting in the kitchen eating pasta. Sure, it was pasta with a lot of cheese and sauce but it had to be better than his usual pizza or hamburger with the lot. It had been a tough day at work. The team had been searching for an Admiral's missing daughter and they had turned up just minutes too late. That they had caught the murderer was only a small relief. He would never kill again, they had made sure of that, but the Admiral should not have left the scene in the back of a morgue van, his young daughter resting still and cold beside him. It was unjust and unfair. She was so young and was a victim of circumstance, a means to an end. She had had the misfortune of being the daughter of a man who knew some secrets an evil man wanted to know.

Filling out the paperwork had been brutal. McGee did not say a word from the moment they entered the NCIS headquarters to the moment they left. Ziva had finished her report and then had stared at her computer screen. Even he had had the sense not to make any jokes. He hadn't even suggested that they went out for drinks like they normally did after they closed a case. He just wanted to go home, have a shower and wash the day off him. When he had done that, the thought of pizza could not peak his interest. A scotch on the rocks peaked it a little bit and took the edge off just slightly. He set about cooking some pasta and garlic bread, the tasks monotony allowing him to unwind a little more. He finally sat down and poured himself a glass of milk, just like his grandmother had used to give him.

His phone rang and he reached for it, "DiNozzo."

"It's me. Do you not answer your front door? I have knocked about eight times," Ziva blurted from the other side.

"You're at my house?" he asked, spinning his knife around on the table.

"I have tequila," she said simply.

"Front door's unlocked, spy girl," he replied.

"I guess I should have tried that," she muttered. He heard the door's telltale squeak as it opened and then Ziva hung-up. She made her way across the living room and into the small kitchen. She unceremoniously dumped a paper bag on the table. "I bought lemons. And limes. I figured you would have salt."

"Limes?"

"Margaritas are my speciality," she answered, placing another paper bag down on the counter. "You want one?"

"Don't you need triple sec or something to make margaritas?" Tony asked. Ziva came up behind him and took a piece of his garlic bread. He swatted her hand and frowned when she shoved it into her mouth. She waited until she had chewed and swallowed before she answered him.

"I bought that too," she replied. "Now, do you want a margarita or not?"

"Yes," he answered. "But make it strong. Men do not drink margaritas."

Two hours and twice as many margaritas later, Tony and Ziva were back on the couch. They were both leaning back, legs outstretched, feet resting on the coffee table. They were laughing over something but neither of them was quite sure. It was either Tony trying to do a shot and ending up with an eyeful of tequila or it was Ziva misdirecting a squeeze of lime and ending up with a face covered in lime juice. After a few minutes though they had exhausted themselves and they fell into a contented silence.

"This was a good idea," Ziva announced to the empty room. "I am a good idea person."

"Do you know what would make this night even better?" Tony asked.

'If time would stop,' Ziva thought but did not say. She simply waited for Tony to answer his own question.

"Music!" he exclaimed. He jumped up and put a CD that Ziva didn't recognise on. It had a good beat though and she liked her music to have a beat. She waited for Tony to come back and join her on the couch but he didn't. He grinned at her and rose an eyebrow. "Dance with me?"

"What?" she asked. "I am not dancing with you."

"Yes you are," he corrected her. He waltzed over and pulled her up off the blue suede lounge. She didn't resist for long and soon she was dancing around the room with Tony. She threw her head back and laughed loudly as their bodies moved to the rhythm. The next few songs were fast and infectious. She bounced, swayed and twisted, her body mirroring Tony's. Soon the tempo slowed down and a slow song came on.

"Ooh, slow song," she giggled.

"Milady," Tony said with a bow. Ziva giggled again and accepted Tony's hand. He pulled her body closer and they swayed together. The only thing that either of them was aware of was the effect being in close proximity to the other was having on them. Ziva rested her head on Tony's broad and hard chest. His hand fanned across her back, dangerously close to her backside. She looked up at him and found him looking back at her. "Eleven days."

"Shh," she said. She shook her head and kissed his lips softly. "Not tonight, Tony. Tonight we dance. Tomorrow we will talk but tonight, just dance."

* * *

"I am going to miss it here," Ziva said, looking around the bullpen. She opened her drawer and reached in for her gun and badge which she placed on her desk. She picked up her coat, her bag and walked around the other side of the desk. She looked around one last time and then caught Tony's eye. He was watching her intently and his eyes were sad.

"We're going to miss you too, my girl," Ducky replied.

"I am going to miss you so, so much!" Abby cried, throwing her arms around Ziva and squeezing her for a long time. Ziva's coat and bag fell to the floor.

"Abs, I cannot breathe," Ziva gasped. Abby squeezed her tighter and then reluctantly let her go. "Hey, do not look so sad. We will see each other again."

"Won't be the same," McGee said with a shrug. Ziva gave him a sad smile and then pulled him into a quick hug. She kissed his cheek and then just to top it off, slapped his forehead lightly. "I am glad to have gotten to know you, Timothy."

"Same here, Ziva," he replied.

Ziva went over to the Director and they kissed each other on the cheek, "Jenny, I will not forget what you have done for me."

"I'd do it again," Jenny answered. She glanced over at Gibbs. "Even if Gibbs was upset with me at first. I "

"I got over that pretty quickly, Jen," he said lightly. "You became a good agent, David."

"Officer," she corrected.

"Agent," he reaffirmed. He kissed her on the forehead and she beamed up at him. "I'll see you."

"Yes, you will," she said with a nod. She walked back over to her desk and picked up her things. She turned to Tony who held out his arm for her. She took his arm and they began to walk over to the lift. She turned back and found the rest of the team watching her. She lifted her hand in a wave and one-by-one they raised their hands back.

* * *

When Ziva turned up, Tony was lounging on the green leather couch in what Ziva called his 'Rat-Pack room.' With a scotch in his hand and some jazz playing on the stereo, he was your typical 1940's movie bachelor. He opened one eye and then closed it again before patting the couch. She walked over and sat next to him before taking his glass out of his hand and taking a sip.

"Strong stuff," she said. She handed the glass back to him and he swallowed the rest in one gulp.

"So I thought we could watch 'Easter Parade' and then finish off with 'The Wizard of Oz,'" Tony suggested. They were working through all of Judy Garland's films and they had only two left. As Tony had predicted Ziva was a musical-lover.

"I think we should just watch 'The Wizard of Oz,'" Ziva said with a shake of her head. Tony looked at her strangely and she shrugged. "I do not want to finish. I want something to come back too."

"Ziva, Ziva, Ziva," Tony said, his voice taking on a tender and sympathetic tone. "Once we're done with Judy Garland, we have all the old Westerns, all the old murder mysteries. Not to mention John Wayne, Bond and movie musicals. Judy Garland is no way near the be-all, end-all of movies."

"I know but can we please just not. I just... I cannot watch..." Ziva said. "I just need it to hang onto."

Tony answered by moving his hands to both sides of her face and kissing her. When they had pulled away, he noticed two tears running down her face and he wiped them away.

"One night," he whispered.

"Not long enough," she whispered back. He moved to kiss her again but she pulled away. "What if I come back and everything is different?"

"It won't be. You know how I know that?" he asked. Ziva shook her head. "I know that because I love you. And even if you do come back and everything is different, it will be better."

* * *

Ziva had begged the team not to see her off from the airport but of course her pleas had fallen on deaf ears. Tony had driven her and they had been mostly silent all the way. When they turned up Gibbs was there holding his prerequisite cup of coffee, Abby was there with her hair in reassuring pigtails, McGee looked half-asleep, Jenny had tears in her eyes, Palmer looked bewildered and almost excited to be invited along and Ducky was prattling along as per usual. He stopped when he saw Ziva and Tony walking towards them, his hand on her back. Ducky held out his arms and Ziva gratefully walked into them. She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, Ducky," was all she could say. "I will miss you."

She pulled away and gave the rest of the team a mock glare.

"I thought I told you not to come," she sighed.

"As if we wouldn't come," Abby cried.

"And have you ever said no to her?" McGee asked.

"Ziva doesn't have much time," Tony said, his teeth clenched. He was furious at having his last few moments alone with her interrupted and not quite so alone.

"Tony's right," Jenny said, on his side for once. She gave him a slight wink then addressed the others. "We'd better be quick. We wouldn't want Ziva to miss her plane."

"Yes we would. That's exactly what we would want her to do," Abby said with a pout. Ziva went over and for once pulled her into a hug.

"I am going to miss you, Abby," Ziva said. "I hope you know that."

"I know," Abby replied. She gave Ziva a small smile and took a step back.

Ziva quickly did the rounds and gave everyone one last hug and kiss until there was only Tony left. He shrugged and glanced around at the team. He caught Ducky's eyes and the doctor nodded knowingly.

"Come on," he said cheerfully. "Let's go upstairs to the viewing deck and watch for Ziva's plane to take off. Tony can get Ziva settled then come find us."

"Thank you, Ducky," Ziva said though Abby was clearly arguing. Gibbs whispered something to her and she begrudgingly followed him upstairs.

"So," Tony said.

"So," Ziva replied. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly. "We will see each other again, Tony."

"I know that. It's you who keeps thinking we won't," he shot-back. He gave her one last DiNozzo grin and another kiss. "I guess you should go."

"I guess I should," she replied reluctantly. He opened his mouth to speak and she placed her fingers over his mouth and said with a small, sad smile, "Don't speak."

"Using my movies against me," he said, her fingers still on him. He kissed them quickly and then ducked away so he could kiss her one last time. "Okay you really need to go now. You still have to get through security and make your flight and... I'll see you, Ziva."

"You will see me," she agreed and then after giving him one last peck, she turned and walked away.

He watched her as she removed her coat and placed it on a tray before walking through the metal detectors. She beeped but after she flashed her Mossad badge and a warrant, she was waved through. Tony chuckled lightly but his face fell when she turned around to give him one last time. She had tears in her eyes but she managed a smile.

He barely managed one back.

* * *

_Three months later._

It was strange being back in Tel Aviv and stranger still being back at Mossad. It didn't feel like home anymore. It felt like she was only a 'weekend fun-pass' to Israel and that any minute now, she would be returning to America, to Tony, to where she belonged. But as it was, Tel Aviv was and always had been home and probably would be until there was another scandal and her father exiled her to another country. Ziva was almost positive that she would not feel the same way about another place as she had Washington. How could she when there was no Gibbs, no Abby, no Ducky, no Jenny, no McGee, no Tony and even no Palmer?

_No Tony._

Missing him was the hardest thing of all. They spoke daily. Sometimes for a few snatched moments. Other times for hours on end. They watched movies together, commenting on things the other may not have noticed or discussing the characters and the way they felt. There was something so comforting about knowing they were doing the same thing thousand and thousands of miles away from each other. Knowing that they were seeing and hearing the same thing. She felt so close to him. Sometimes they didn't talk. They would just sit there and listen to the other breathing. And sometimes they fought and sometimes they bantered and sometimes Ziva tried not to weep and sometimes Tony tried to laugh. It killed them both hearing the others voice but not being able to see or touch but there was no way they'd give the phone calls up.

But then the day came that Ziva had forseseen. She had rung Tony but he hadn't picked up. Two days went by and no Tony. He hadn't even replied to her calls. She teetered between being beside herself in worry, angry that she had become so reliant on him, angry at him for not calling and resigned that it had ended how she knew it would. And that was what broke her heart. She had fallen in love with a man and he had fallen in love with her although they both knew it wouldn't work.

* * *

It was pitch-black outside when the incessant ringing came from the kitchen where she had left the phone. Ziva sat-up and blinked a few times to reacquaint herself with her surroundings. After ten seconds she picked the noise.

"Stupid phone," she hissed. She stumbled down the hallway, through the lounge-room and snatched the phone off the hook. "What?"

"I expected you to pick up within eight rings," a familar voice spoke. "I almost hung-up."

"Tony?" she asked. She blinked and peered at the time on the oven.

"You were expecting some one else?" he asked.

"Of course not. Why are you ringing so late? You scared me," she replied.

"We just closed a pretty major case. I've kind of been neglecting you so it seemed like as good a time of any to ring."

"At three in the morning?" she asked. She yawned and he suddenly realised how tired she sounded.

"I woke you up," he said, stating the obvious.

"Yes, Einstein," she shot-back. She yawned again. "I have not been sleeping easily for the last few nights. In most part because of you."

"Because of me?"

"Yes because of you. You did not think that I would worry when I did not hear for you in three days?" she snapped.

"I'm glad that you're mad at me," he replied. She could hear the smile in his voice . "It means you still care about me."

"Still care about you?" she gasped incredulously. "Still care about you? I never stopped caring about you. What kind of talk is this? You are crazy and annoying and impetuous or enouragable or something."

"Incorrigible?" he suggested. She groaned in frustration and he imagined her throwing her arms up in the air. "I like you when you're grumpy."

"I am not grumpy. I am happy," she corrected. "Who would not be thrilled when someone rings at three in the morning after not hearing from them for three days?"

"You sure have an interesting way of showing it," he replied. "I'm happy that you're happy."

"Okay. So we are all happy. Now, did you ring for a reason, Tony?" she asked. She yawned again, mentally kicking herself. "I am sorry. I am so tired."

"It's okay. I can call back in the morning," he offered. "Actually, I only called to say one thing."

"What?" she asked.

"I love you, Ziva," he whispered.

"Love you too," she murmured back.

* * *

Ziva pulled up in the driveway and saw someone sitting on her steps. She warily climbed out of the car and with her hand on her gun made her way slowly over. She stopped a few feet away when she realised who it was.

"Got to say I'm disappointed, David," he whistled. "I expected a gun in my face or at the very least a knife."

"Tony!" she cried and then suddenly he was being strangled. It took him a few seconds to realised she was hugging him and he wound his arms around her and pulled her close. They stood there for five minutes, not moving or talking, just hugging. Ziva pulled him as close as she physically could without hurting him before releasing him. "What are you doing here?"

"I had some holiday time and it seemed like a better time than any to come see you," he answered.

She unlocked the door and they both moved inside. He set his large duffel bag down on the living room floor and sunk into her lounge.

"Make yourself comfortable," Ziva said. He grinned up at her and she grinned back.

"Is this where you sit when we watch our movies?" he asked. She nodded and he looked thoughtful. "It's comfy."

"Yes and if you do not get your butt into gear you will be sleeping on it tonight," she said.

"You're thinking about sleeping already?" he asked.

"No. I am thinking about eating dinner," she admitted. She smiled at him. "Tony, it is so nice to see you here."

She walked over to him and leaned her full-weight on him and pulled her head back to look at him. He hesitated for a moment and then he leant in to kiss her. She sighed as their lips met and he deepened their kiss. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity until Ziva couldn't hold it in anymore and she yawned again. They stood there in the middle of her lounge-room giggling. Tony reluctantly pulled away.

"I guess I am still a little tired," she laughed. She rested her hand on Tony's chest. "I have an idea."

"I'm up for anything..."

* * *

"See," Tony said. He and Ziva were ensconced on the couch watching a DVD.

"See what?" she asked. She took a sip of her hot chocolate.

"I told you nothing would be different," he answered.

"Technically everything is different because I did not come back," she parried back lightly. "And you are also wrong because it is different."

"It is?" Tony asked confused

"Yes. But you were right about it. It is better," she replied. She shifted and was rested her head against his chest. She loved the feeling of his chest rising up and down beneath her. "Much better."

"I have a present for you," he said with a grin. He pointed to his duffel bag. "It's in there."

Ziva walked over to the bag after disentangling herself from Tony's arms. She reached into it and pulled out what else but a DVD shaped package wrapped in old Christmas paper.

"Christmas paper?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

"It was all I had," he shrugged. "Open it."

She ripped the paper off and pulled the DVD out.

"'The Easter Parade?'" she asked incredulously. She clutched it to her chest and some tears popped into her eyes.

"I figured I'm not going anywhere so you don't need to hang onto it anymore," he shrugged.

"What are you saying?" she asked.

"I'm saying that even though you live in Israel and I live in the US that maybe we should have a go at this," he said. She pretended to look confused. "A go at being in a relationship. My day isn't complete without talking to you and I think that you feel the same way."

"You know I do but are you sure?"

"Ziva, I love you. And not just in a friendly way but in an I'm in love with you and I don't want anyone else to have you kind of way," he said. A few stray tears had made their way into his eyes too.

"I am in love with you too," she whispered. She brushed a tear away. She closed the distance between them and pulled him as close as she could. She felt his body shaking slightly. "We're just a bunch of cry-babies."

"I'm not crying," Tony protested but he couldn't hide the crack in his voice.

Ziva pulled away and kissed his cheek.

"I will not tell anyone. I promise," she whispered.

"You're going to tell Abby and McGee first thing tomorrow, aren't you?" he asked.

Ziva's face cracked into a smile and she nodded.

"But it does not matter because you will still love me," she pointed out.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"Because you flew all the way to Tel Aviv to give me a movie I already have," she answered. His face fell and she giggled. "Did you not wonder why your copy was missing?"

"I just figured I left it somewhere," he said. "You've had it this whole time?'

"Yep," she replied. "Regret coming here?"

"Never," he said and he leaned in for another kiss.


End file.
